China naval group to berth at Iran port

A Chinese naval group is to berth in southern Iran as Tehran and Beijing maintain their determination to enhance naval cooperation, the Iranian Navy has announced.

The Chinese Navy flotilla comprises two battle cruisers, a support vessel, and a helicopter, the Iranian Navy’s Public Relations Department said.

It said the group, which has just been to the Pakistani port of Karachi for training purposes, will be docking at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on Thursday.

A high-ranking naval delegation from China visited Iran for talks in October 2015.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari (R) and the deputy chief of the People’s Liberation Army of China General Staff Department, Admiral Sun Jianguo, are seen in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on October 14, 2015.

A Chinese Navy flotilla also arrived in the southern Iranian coast three years ago.

Subsequently, Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari visited China’s eastern port city of Qingdao with a high-ranking team in attendance and held talks with Chinese military officials.

The Iranian Navy dispatched a naval group to China back in 2012, setting a new precedence in the countries’ bilateral naval cooperation.